A newsletter for employees of the Arizona Department of Transportation

The INSIDE

t ADOT Director gets on-the-job training in new Direct Connect episode PAGE 4

t US 60 safety project goes smoothly, thanks to teamwork PAGE 6

t Governor Ducey praises MVD team during visit to West Phoenix office PAGE 8

SEPTEMBER 2018

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2

Connecting One ADOT: Conference focuses on leadership and learning

PAGE

3

The INSIDE2

LEADERSHIP

MATTERS

AS AUGUST COMES TO AN END I’m starting to feel like we have made it through the dog days of summer and that we’re that much closer

to enjoying some of the best weather in the nation.

I’m also feeling like ADOT has made it through the dog days of implementing the Arizona Management System, and we are starting to enjoy the benefits from everyone’s efforts.

Since starting with ADOT back in the fall of 1989, I have seen a number of agency improvement initiatives begin, only to achieve limited success before the efforts seemed to fade. This limited success is not due to a lack of effort or commitment by management or team members, but with an agency the size of ADOT and a mission that is personal to every person in the state, it is easy to get consumed in just “doing” and not “improving.”

Embraced by both management and team members, I see the benefits AMS brings by engaging employees in a culture of people-centered continuous improvement while keeping us all focused on delivering customer value.

This agencywide cultural attitude is evidenced by the more than 5,000 kaizens brought forward by ADOT team members this past year. No matter how small or large the effect of each individual kaizen, the cumulative effect has resulted in making ADOT a more efficient and better place to work.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge one key group that is a significant contributor to ADOT’s AMS implementation success and that is the Office of Continuous Improvement. Led by Kismet Weiss, OCI is a team of senior Lean coach professionals who are great resources for assisting ADOT on this evolution of continuous improvement through AMS. The OCI team has been instrumental in providing training and guidance. They offer expertise on the principles of AMS while also assisting agency employees on its practical application.

In all my years working at ADOT, I truly feel this agency is evolving toward meeting its True North culture of making transportation personal and that every day, everyone, everywhere within our team is valued and making ADOT a better place to work.

Happy kaizening.

The INSIDE

ADOT DIRECTORJohn S. halikowSki

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR POLICYkevin BieSty

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORtimothy tait

NEWSLETTER STAFFkathy Boyle, aSSiStant

CommuniCationS DireCtorangela De welleS, Senior

CommuniCationS SpeCialiStmiChelle Fink, aDminiStrative SupportDanelle weBer, Senior

CommuniCationS SpeCialiStranDy SaSaki, graphiCS proJeCt managerJohn walraDt, graphiC DeSignerelena Diaz, graphiC DeSignerFrank roDriguez, graphiC DeSigner

EDITORIAL BOARDeDDie eDiSon, hrChieF gary mCCarthy, eCD/oig

gregory ByreS, mpDlt. JameS warriner, eCDJameS winDSor, tSmoJenniFer BowSer riCharDS, mvDlarry Clark, mvDliSa Danka, FmSmJ vinCent, oCiSteve BoSChen, iDoteD howarD, aSD

the inSiDe lane iS puBliSheD monthly For the employeeS oF the arizona Department oF tranSportation By aDot CommuniCationS.

aDDreSS all CommentS anD SuggeStionS to InsideLane@azdot.gov.

a weB verSion oF thiS newSletter Can Be FounD on aDotnet or at azDot.gov/inSiDelane.

© 2018 Arizona Department of Transportation

18-310

Share your best cover shotDo you snap shots that show off the scenic side of transportation in Arizona? Share them with us and we might put your photograph on the next cover of The Inside Lane.

It can be a great picture of an MVD office, a beautiful highway shot or even an artsy photo of construction materials. Whatever the subject, the photo should highlight some aspect of the work happening here at ADOT.

Submit your original, digital photographs to InsideLane@azdot.gov in JPEG format (no larger than 10MB). Along with the photo, please provide a brief description and your name/title.

Floyd Roehrich, Jr.Executive Officer

This photo by Kim Katchur of ADOT Communications is from the recent leadership conference. Learn more on page 3.

The INSIDE3

The training never stops. Curry said the K-9 units get together weekly to continue training efforts.

W HEN YOU’RE building an agencywide culture that empowers employees and encourages problem solving, managers and supervisors must know the role they play.

That is why organizers for this year’s Leaders Connection Conference put together an agenda aimed at arming attendees with some specifics to help them develop as leaders.

Held August 28-29 at the Arizona Grand Conference Center in Phoenix, the sixth annual conference was attended by ADOT’s executive leadership team and more than 700 managers and supervisors from around the state.

Before this year’s conference, Office of Continuous Improvement Administrator Kismet Weiss explained why the yearly focus on leadership is so important…

“We only have one time a year when we have everyone together,” she said. “We want to give them the tools and information they need to be better leaders as we develop this culture of highly engaged employees. Because leaders own the culture — they create the environment people work in.”

A packed agendaThe conference schedule included a keynote speech from Arizona State University women’s basketball head coach Charli Turner Thorne. Talks from ADOT Director John Halikowski and Chief Operating Officer Scott Omer were on the agenda, too.

After that, conference participants attended three 70-minute breakout sessions — Total Systems Thinking, Coaching in the Gemba and Leader Standard Work.

The session topics were chosen to challenge attendees to think beyond managing the day-to-day, Weiss said. Managers and supervisors were asked to look for ways to inspire and lead a team, consider different points of view and develop their employees’ ability to solve problems.

Beyond the lessons and presentations, the conference included an interactive game, the debut of the newest Direct Connect video, an awards presentation for leader of the year and the return of the PDCA poster gallery. On day two of the conference, division leaders brought their managers together to discuss strategies and action plans for the upcoming year.

What’s next?Just because the conference is over, doesn’t mean that the managers are done — not by a long shot!

Anyone who had the privilege of attending now has a responsibility to share what they learned with their teams and all the employees who were getting work done either in the office or out in the field during the two-day event. So, if your manager hasn’t filled you in yet, this list of questions should help you get the conversation started. ~Angela De Welles, Senior Communications Specialist

INSPIRATION, LEARNING OFFERED DURING ANNUAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Kim Katchur, ADOT Communications

Problem-solving teams created posters to highlight what they learned during the PDCA process. The posters were showcased during the leadership conference.

Attendees attended three different breakout sessions during the conference.

Kim Katchur, ADOT Communications

1. What was your key takeaway from each speaker at the start of the conference?

2. Tell us how you intend to implement Total Systems Thinking.

3. Is there anything you’ll be doing differently during your gemba walks?

4. Did the conference help you to define your priority as a leader?

5. Tell us about the game related to the eight wastes.

6. Which posters did you see, and what did you learn about the PDCA method?

7. Is there anything you can tell us about what the managers from our unit worked on during day two?

8. What did you think of the Direct Connect video?

9. Can you tell us a little bit about strategy deployment and how it will impact our team?

10. What did you like best about the conference, and what did you find most valuable?

TOP 10THINGS TO ASK YOUR MANAGER ABOUT THE 2018 LEADERS CONNECTION CONFERENCE

The INSIDE4

ADOT Director John Halikowski is back at it in the newest installment of Direct Connect.

Crossed somewhere between “Dirty Jobs” and “Undercover Boss,” the popular series has already followed Halikowski to the Topock Port of Entry and the ADOT Sign Factory. This time around, he’s on the job with employees from Equipment Services…

Available to view in the “Direct Connect Album” on ADOTNet, episode three takes viewers along as Halikowski preps a snowplow, learns to weld and completes some routine vehicle maintenance tasks — all under the supervision of Equipment Services technicians, of course!

After his workday is over, Halikowski wraps up his experience by sharing his thoughts on the role each employee has at ADOT.

“Everybody’s job is important at ADOT. I don’t care where you’re working at or what you’re working on,” he says at the end of the episode. “We’re an incredibly complex and diverse agency and as you can see from my travels, through what is now my third division on Direct Connect, we all have to rely on each other to make sure that we are safe and we get home safely to our loved ones at night.”

If you haven’t already checked out the first two episodes, you can find them both in ADOTNet’s “Direct Connect Album.” ~ Angela De Welles, Senior Communications Specialist

NOW PLAYING ON A SCREEN NEAR YOU

ADOT Director gets on-the-job training in new Direct Connect episode

New freeway cameras don’t come easyTSMO techs reconfigure network forefficiency, reliability

NEW HIGH-DEFINITION freeway cameras offer more clarity for the Traffic Operation Center and

commuters alike, but the effort to install the improved technology isn’t as apparent.

That’s because the work takes place alongside freeways and involves miles of fiber optic cables that run unseen underground. A recent project illustrates just how intricate the work can get and how the technicians who maintain the system are making big improvements…

Statewide Intelligent Transportation Systems Supervisor Steve Kohler explained that an upgrade in the spring to newer HD cameras for the East Valley required technicians to convert the signal being used from analog to digital.

“Now it runs over Ethernet, with a redundancy back to the server,” he said.

That word, redundancy, is very important because the project also gave cameras an additional way to “talk” to servers at the TOC in Phoenix. Before the project, several freeway cameras in the area were on a point-to-point fiber optic network — meaning that each camera had only one path to connect and exchange data with servers at the TOC. That works fine until the connection is disrupted. When that would happen, not only would one camera go down, but every other camera on the same point-to-point network would also lose its path to the TOC servers because there was only one way to get there.

The project, which started in April and took about a month to complete, reconfigured the area’s cameras onto a ring network. Kohler explained that the ring network now gives cameras two paths back and forth to the servers. So, if a camera’s connection is disrupted, all the other cameras on the network will still have one path to the servers.

The result of the project allowed several cameras to get upgraded to high definition. TOC operators and anyone checking the view on az511.gov now have a clearer view of traffic on the Pima Freeway segment of Loop 101 in Scottsdale, between Cactus Road and Princess Drive, and also, the Loop 101 Price Freeway passing though Tempe, Chandler and Mesa between the Red Mountain and Santan segments of Loop 202.

“The work upgraded the reliability and the quality. It also freed up fiber optic cable to make things more efficient,” said Transportation System Management and Operations (TSMO) Systems Maintenance Supervisor for the East Valley James Sheppard.

While all the work that went into the project might not be evident to motorists, they are benefitting from the results, TSMO Systems Maintenance Superintendent Steve Koebler said.

“These used to be the most failure-prone cameras in the system,” he said. “Now they’re some of the best and most reliable.”

For a better look at the new and improved views, visit az511.gov.

~ Angela De Welles, Senior Communications Specialist

Before and after: TSMO Systems Maintenance Team technicians worked on a recent project that allowed freeway cameras in the East Valley to be upgraded.

The INSIDE5

BEFORE

WHEN AN emergency strikes on the State Highway System, it becomes a

multilateral collaboration to offer assistance and prevent secondary emergencies from happening as a result of the first. With so many cooks in the kitchen, the scene can quickly become chaotic. Traffic incident management training is vital for preparing for these events.

In the Southwest District, Highway Operations Superintendent Danny Soliz has spent the last couple of years leading those TIM training sessions with a co-instructor from the Quartzite Fire Department.

With multiple agencies participating in the training, Soliz said, “The most important aspect of these sessions is to bring awareness to emergency responders on where to park, know where to stage your vehicle at the scene, coordinate with incident command and set up proper traffic control to avoid any secondary incidents.”

The four-hour training sessions have participants engaging in table-top exercises to model real-life emergencies. These sessions also usually include more than just ADOT employees. Tow truck drivers, Department of Public Safety officers, sheriff’s office officers and even local law enforcement are frequent

attendees in Soliz’s TIM classes. In fact, the most recent class Soliz has taught was by request from the Yuma County Emergency Management Agency.

The benefit of these TIM training sessions is noticeable, too.

“These TIM classes allow people to get to know each other before an incident,” said Southwest District’s Senior Highway Operations Engineer Bruce Fenske. “We learn a lot about the roles and responsibilities of other agencies. It increases our ability to communicate with other agencies.”

And communication during a traffic emergency is key.

“If someone is trapped in a car,” Fenske offered as an example, “operations can go smoother. While other agencies like law enforcement and fire fighters can focus on their roles, ADOT can focus on opening roads as quickly and as safely as possible to return traffic to normal.”

When everyone knows what to expect and how to communicate, even a hectic emergency situation can be smoothly handled. ~ Dani Weber, Senior Communications Specialist

TIM training in Yuma County bolsters interagency communication, efficiency

File photoCOMMUNICATIONS ADOPTS A HIGHWAYTeam welcomes you to join in the next clean up eventAS PART OF ADOT’S Adopt a Highway program, ADOT Communications has adopted a mile of US 60, spanning mileposts 130 to 131 in the Wittmann area. The team conducted its very first cleanup back in June and has the next one scheduled 8-9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8.

Want to join the effort? All ADOT employees are invited to help out, according to Communications Program Manager Mary Currie.

“If we want the public involved in taking care of roads, let’s lead by example,” Currie said. “I invite those thinking about adoption to come out and ‘kick the tires’ with us during a scheduled cleanup event on our segment of US 60. We’re hoping to gain interest in the program and show our support to the community, as our Adopt a Highway volunteer groups do when conducting cleanup events throughout the year. It’s about teamwork and community pride.”

ADOT employees should know that this volunteer opportunity is held outside work hours and is not affiliated with, or a substitute for work hours.

Anyone interested in attending must RSVP to Adopt a Highway Volunteer Organizer Mary Currie at 602.712.4358 or by email at MCurrie@azdot.gov.

Joining in? Here are the details…At 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, we’ll park and meet for a safety briefing at the Subway restaurant near the section of adopted highway, 31120 W. Hwy 60, Wittmann, AZ 85361.

After the meeting, participants will be dropped off at various cleanup areas. Anyone joining the pick-up event should wear a hat, closed-toe shoes, long pants and sunscreen. Don’t

forget to bring along water, gloves, ANSI Class II or III vest and a litter pick-up stick. If needed, vests, gloves

and pick-up sticks will be provided — please provide your requests to Currie before the event.

Mary Currie, ADOT Communications

Laurie Merrill, ADOT Communications

CANCELED

The INSIDE6

US 60 safety project goes smoothly,

thanks to teamwork

A big project completed by crews in a short amount of time has already had a huge impact on motorists…

In mid-July, ADOT made lane adjustments and installed new signs as part of a safety project along westbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) at its junction with Interstate 10 in Tempe. Drivers have taken notice, and the results have been positive.

But what’s not so obvious is the amount of preparation that took place behind the scenes. Different ADOT teams worked for weeks, planning and coordinating the various tasks to make sure the project would go smoothly — and it did.

“Because we all worked so well together and we had everything lined up, we were able to open up the freeway section to traffic by noon on Sunday,” said Regional Traffic Engineer and project manager Tony Abbo. “We were at least 18 hours ahead of schedule.”

Work included changing the westbound US 60 to eastbound I-10 ramp from a one-lane ramp to a two-lane ramp, lane striping on westbound US 60 to allow a second lane along westbound US 60 to connect with the ramp to eastbound I-10 toward Tucson. The addition of new signage was a major part of the project, too.

ADOT’s Interstate Signing crews took on the task of building 10 new signs for the project, five of which are

the largest to be fabricated by the team.

“The biggest one was 44 feet wide by 11 feet high,” said Traffic Engineer Jerome Choy. “Others were 44 feet wide by 10 feet high and 44 feet wide by 11 feet high.”

Interstate Signing Supervisor Ed Walls explained that the freeway signs were made from several panels measuring 30x1 feet, which were bolted together to make a sign before text and symbols are added. Building the signs took place in the weeks before the installation. According to Walls, the team worked on the signs, in addition to completing their normal day-to-day tasks. On the weekend of the installation, crews were ready, he said.

“There were a lot of crews out there doing different things,” he said. “We had plenty of meetings to determine who was going to do what and when. It all worked out pretty well.”

Other work that got done during the Friday-Sunday traffic closure included landscaping, bridge work,

pothole patching and other maintenance-related activities, Abbo said.

“Everybody jumped on the chance to get work done on westbound US 60 during that closure, meaning that we saved money overall by not having to schedule closures on different dates,” he said.

For more on the project, check out the recent ADOT news release detailing the results. ~ Angela De Welles, Senior Communications Specialist

ADOT's Interstate Signing crews were tasked with building 10 new signs for the project.

Coralie Cole, ADOT Communications

Jerome Choy, Interstate Signing

The INSIDE7

WHAT DO

YOU DO?

How many years have you worked for ADOT? Less than one year.

How do you describe your job to people outside of ADOT? A diverse and exciting career. I refer to our safety and training culture as well as the satisfaction of providing a safe traveling experience for our state’s population and visitors. I speak about the quality of life and family stability that ADOT offers to its current and retired employees.

Describe a typical work day. While we typically have a set plan and assigned task for our Org, that can change moment to moment due to emergencies and inclement weather. We maintain the Apache Trail as well as the state route leading to Young, so we have to be rather fluid with our mindset. A daily huddle starts the morning and usually includes grading the “Trail” and monitoring and controlling the dust levels of the task we are fulfilling. Regular maintenance of the roadways and assisting other Orgs help fill out the work week. We definitely make the most of our CDL license!

What do you like most about your job? Being part of a great team with great leadership. Our cares and concerns are listened to, and our solutions to problems we encounter are actually considered. Although there is a hierarchy, it does not feel as such. A Tech III will help out and pitch in while a Tech I’s experience will be employed instead of being dismissed as the “new guy.”

What do you want other ADOT employees to know about your job that they might not know? I could be wrong here, but to the best of my knowledge, we have the only two dirt state routes in Arizona.

What is the most challenging part of your job? The environment. Heat, cold, snow, heavy rains, dust storms, lightening — you know, typical Arizona weather.

What is the most interesting/exciting thing that has happened to you on the job? Just working on the Apache Trail or the Young Road is excitement enough. Single-lane dirt tracks with blind corners and heavy equipment can make for an eventful day. It’s also fun when you see some of the wildlife we encounter. Bears, bighorn sheep, mountain lions and now wolves are often spotted while working.

At ADOT, it’s difficult to sum up anyone’s job in just a few words. That’s why we’re devoting some space in this newsletter to give employees across the agency the chance to share a little bit about what they do every day. If you’d like to participate for a future issue, please send an email to InsideLane@azdot.gov and we’ll provide you with a questionnaire.

Meet JD Cline!Highway Maintenance Tech I

Photos submitted byJD Cline

The INSIDE8

OVERNOR DUCEY recently visited our West Phoenix office. Like others from across the country, he wanted to see and experience the progress we have made.

When he arrived in the lobby, he met with Supervisor Sarina Sanchez, Ramona Lefotu, Kyle Ulibarri, Mike Cryderman and me. Sarina explained the new customer experience flow to the governor and provided him with information on how those changes came about. Sarina then escorted him to Maddie Carbajal and Customer Service Representative Amy Lopez so that he could obtain his Travel ID. After Maddie took his photo, Amy ensured his documentation was in order and processed his

credential. The governor then headed over to meet with Lead Esmeralda Coronado,

who guided him to the CSR window stations and explained workplace organization and 5S

tools used for efficiency.

The governor then headed back to the CSR team huddle board, where Lead Richelle Richey walked him through the huddle board metrics (and was sure to mention the great kiosk numbers for the month). The governor was also pleased to learn that, while this process began at West Phoenix, it had been exported and improved upon by offices throughout the state to create the system he saw that day.

After the tour, the governor took several minutes to commend the team for their great work and the incredible progress we have all made. The governor also noted that he has done many similar tours throughout his career in the public and private sector and that it is impossible for a team to “fake” this kind of success. It was clear from what he had seen and experienced, as well as from the enthusiasm he saw from the team, that the adoption of the Arizona Management System he witnessed was genuine. He thanked the team for their hospitality and congratulated MVD on our enormous success!

I appreciate the efforts of the West Phoenix team that made Gov. Ducey’s visit a success! In a relatively short amount of time, we were able to show him numerous examples of the progress being made across MVD! I appreciate the work that you all do in your offices and programs around the state to make MVD a success! ~ Eric Jorgensen, Motor Vehicle Division Director

During Gov. Ducey's visit, Richelle Richey highlighted the team's huddle board metrics (top photo) and Sarina Sanchez explained the site's new customer flow experience.

t Gov. Doug Ducey commended the MVD team for the site's progress.

MVD director shares experience from

Governor Ducey's visit

Kim Katchur, ADOT Communications

Doug Nick, ADOT Communications

The INSIDE9

Dirt screed helps keep Grand Canyon Airport free of ruts, holes

WHEN IT COMES to keeping a clear runway for airplanes to safely take off and land, the Grand Canyon Airport Fire Department

is on the airfield daily. Between filling ruts on the runway and holes dug by coyotes around the perimeter, airport firefighters and operations personnel have devised a way to save time and use their resources more efficiently.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has many rules, but one in particular is cause for daily maintenance on any airfield: no runway obstruction may exceed three inches. That means a rut cannot be more than three inches deep or five inches wide, and no bump may be more then three inches high or five inches wide.

This rule is meant to keep planes and their landing gear safe from obstructions that could lead to unfortunate incidents. However, keeping to this rule means daily inspections and maintenance of the airfield.

To fill these ruts and lips, the Grand Canyon Airport keeps a stockpile of dirt. The dirt, however, contains lots of large rocks, which cause problems for filling in those three-inch holes. When airport operations personnel go to fill holes with the dirt they have on-hand, they often have to make several trips — first to fill the hole or lip, then to remove the large rocks, then to fill the hole in more, then to remove more rocks, until the holes or lips are filled to FAA standards.

That process could take quite a lot of time, so Airport Firefighters and Operations Personnel Jerry Banks and Devin Marquez got together to figure out a better way to fill the ruts and lips. What they came up with

was a simple screen, set at a 45 degree angle, through which the dirt on-hand is sifted to separate the large rocks from the finer material.

“I’ve been in construction all my adult life,” Banks said, “and we used dirt screeds there all the time. We came up with the prototype and made adjustments until it was working great.”

With this new tool, which both Banks and Marquez were able to construct with unused materials from around the airport, drastically cuts down the time it takes to fill ruts and holes around the airfield.

To put that time saving in perspective, the Grand Canyon Airport is two miles long, but it turns into six miles walking up and down each side of the airfield. With the new screed in place, laying down dirt on the airfield — a job that might’ve taken eight hours previously — now only takes four or even two hours.

“There’s been some trial and error,” Marquez said. “We’ve used it for about four months so that we could show our supervisors that this worked. Now we’ve gotten approval to build a better one.”

The original prototype recycled on-hand materials, which made the difference between several hundred dollars and possibly more than $10,000. Because the dirt screed has proven its effectiveness, Banks and Marquez are now building a new screed from

better, longer-lasting materials, and they’re still able to keep costs to a minimum because they can weld it themselves, rather than contracting an external source.

In addition, the large rocks sifted from the dirt piles don’t just get thrown aside and wasted. They’re reused to fill in the holes that coyotes dig under the fences that surround the airport property. When coyotes find their way on the airfield, they pose

a serious crash risk to planes that are taking off and landing. Keeping them off the property is high priority, and the rocks repurposed from the dirt help to keep them safely away.

There’s no more having to do double or even triple the work to meet the FAA requirements for filling ruts and holes on the airfield, and as an added bonus, the airport can more effectively manage the wildlife around the property. ~ Dani Weber, Senior Communications Specialist

Kaizen is a Japanese word that refers to any improvement responsible for eliminating waste or improving safety and quality. Changes made as the result of a kaizen, even the smallest ones, can often add up to big results. At ADOT, employees from around the state are implementing kaizens. Here’s a closer look at one of them…

KaizenKorner

Kaizen countThe number of Kaizens submitted by ADOT employees so far this fiscal year is

366For a complete breakdown by division, visit the Office of Continuous Improvement page on ADOTNet.

Dirt hills we get the contaminated dirt from

Old Screed New Screed

Rocks removed from contaminated dirt to fill coyote holes and line the inner perimeter fence

Pavement lip that has clean dirt to correct 3-inch lip

Pavement lip greater than 3-inches

Devin Marquez, Grand Canyon Airport

The INSIDE10

LOOK

BACK

FROM MAKING office appointments online to creating personalized accounts, MVD customers have more and more

opportunities these days to get out of line and stay safely on the road.

While nobody knows what the far-out future holds, we are certain that time-saving technological advancements aren’t new around here. In fact, it’s safe to say that many of the steps taken decades ago have helped the agency get to where it is today.

Take for example, “the computerization of the master file of all title records,” a year-long project that wrapped up back in July 1984.

According to Newsbeat, ADOT’s employee newsletter of the day, “the project saw 3.75 million title records entered into the computer.”

Quite an accomplishment!

In the photo above (left), Ronnie Moore, a motor vehicle operational clerk, checks some of the last title identification cards to be computerized. Newsbeat boasted that all title records could now be called up with registration records on computer terminals, which are showcased in the photo above (right).

A few years later, the agency was still learning what computers could do for operational efficiency.

In a column for the November 1986 issue of Newsbeat, Administrative Services Director Frank Bowman wrote that technological advances in computer hardware and software had allowed the department to move forward since the late 1970s.

“The number of computer terminals in our department has increased to more than 700 from about 100 a few years ago. New user applications are being addressed almost daily. For example, our payroll and personnel information today is transmitted electronically. That is progress!”

Bowman wrote that employees were experiencing just the “tip of the iceberg,” explaining that software programs, including the “new” Computer Aided Drafting Design System (CADD) in the Highways Division, MVD’s Tax and Revenue Group Automate Tracking System (TARGATS) and Administrative Service’s Transportation Cost System (TRACS), would give employees an even greater capacity to work more efficiently.

“New technology has brought ADOT into the 1980s ... Our plan is to continue to utilize new developments in automation to provide the department with state-of-the-art capability. We will take this challenge into the 1990s.”

It makes you wonder if ADOT employees in the 1980s ever could have imagined how far the agency would continue to advance thanks to the foundation they built. ~ Angela De Welles, Senior Communications Specialist

For as long as there have been roads in Arizona, there have been people who plan, build and maintain them. It’s those skilled women and men who have made this state’s transportation history a remarkable one. From 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established, to right now, right here at ADOT, state employees have continuously done the work necessary to keep Arizona moving. Take a look back at some of their stories.

The INSIDE11

Doug Nintzel here for ADOT “Avoid getting behind the 8 Ball

by obeying all traffic laws.”

WINNER

WINNER!

We received many creative entries in response to last month’s caption contest, but there could only be one winner.

Congratulations to Transportation Engineering Specialist Antonio Lopez for submitting the winning caption! Internal Communications Manager Kathy Boyle awarded Antonio with a special prize, a gift card donated by ADOT Director John Halikowski.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of the ADOT employees who have recently earned spot incentives and meritorious leave! For a complete list of the employees who were awarded, check out the ADOTNet home page.

The criteria for spot incentives and meritorious leave can be found under ADOT Policy and Procedures on ADOTNet.

WAY TO

GO!

ADOT JUMBLEDirections: Unscramble each of the clue words, then arrange the circled letters to form the answer. Email your answers to InsideLane@azdot.gov by Sept. 14. Everyone who solves the puzzle will be entered into a drawing for a (small) prize. We’ll reveal the answers in next month’s newsletter. Good luck!

1) CUTRIYSE n __ __ __ __ n__ __

2) SITDESRA n n __ __ n__ __ n

3) MYEENGERC __ __ __ __ __ n n n n

4) TILFYCIA __ __ __ n__ __ n__

5) EACEVTUA __ __ __ __ __ __ n__

6) TEIX __ __ n__

After his badge wouldn’t get him in the door, Jelani began suffering from an:

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

Why are you taking this so personally?

The INSIDE12

Driving Safety Home2018

Safety first in everything we doS I’VE OFTEN SAID, my No. 1 goal for ADOT employees is that you all return home

safely at the end of each day in the same condition you came to work.

This agency does a lot to work toward that goal by promoting safety both on the job and on the road. We offer a variety of resources and training opportunities that I encourage you to utilize.

One big effort on that end kicked off in 2017 after a several-year hiatus — I’m talking about the ADOT Safety Stand Down Day.

Last year’s event was the first time since 1999 that all transportation-related divisions got together on a single day to focus on safety. I’m happy to say that we’re keeping things rolling by holding the 2018 Safety Stand Down Day on Sept. 19.

This year, roughly 1,700 ADOT employees will gather to learn and share tips and guidelines related to family and workplace safety.

Like the last event, the upcoming Stand Down will give us a chance to not only expand our knowledge, but also examine our own habits when it comes to safety.

To all the employees reading this who will not be attending the Stand Down, I want to point you toward some good ADOT-related safety resources.

• The Driving Safety Home archive is a great place to start — a number of important topics have been covered in this column over the years. While you’re on the webpage, you can also find the Driving Safety Home pledge. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to print it out, sign it and hang it in your workspace as a reminder of the promise you are making to be a safer driver.

• When it comes to safety in the workplace, the webpage for ADOT’s Safety and Risk Management office contains a lot of useful material — there’s even a section containing “toolbox talks” that you can draw from during your group’s regular safety meetings.

On a related note, I want to remind you about the recent Crash Facts report. It was released by ADOT in July, and from it, we learn that fatal crashes are trending in the wrong direction — traffic deaths in the state rose for the third straight year in 2017. According to the report, impairment, speeding and reckless driving, and failure to wear a seat belt are leading factors in

traffic fatalities. Alcohol, prescription medication or illegal drugs played a role in 43 percent of traffic deaths in Arizona last year.

The statistics are yet another reminder for us to be attentive on the road. At ADOT, we can set the example both at work and with our families.

For more information on safe driving, check out ADOT’s Transportation Safety webpage and as always, please share what you learn with your family and loved ones. ~ Dallas Hammit, Deputy Director for Transportation

Dallas Hammit